WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., today voted in favor of legislation that strengthens whistleblower protections, reforms the disability benefits appeals process at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and provides additional authority to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reprimand employees for performance or misconduct.

“As I travel North Carolina’s 5th District, I hear a similar refrain. No matter where I go, constituents tell me horror stories of their experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans are frustrated with the lack of service they’re receiving. They’re angry because they can’t get an appointment or a phone call returned. And they’re outraged, as I am, that the Obama administration is doing little to solve the multitude of problems that have been revealed,” said Foxx. “Congress has continued to enact major reform legislation, including the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act, but we need a president who will truly commit to reforming the VA and give America’s veterans a meaningful, decisive plan to right the many wrongs.”

H.R. 5620, the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act, provides increased flexibility to remove VA employees for poor performance or misconduct as well as strengthens accountability of Senior Executive Service employees to address reports of widespread mismanagement at the VA. The bill enhances protections for whistleblowers by providing employees an additional method to report whistleblower complaints and provides supervisors with the opportunity to address problems at the lowest levels. It also eliminates bonuses for senior VA employees for five years to pay for the bill.

Additionally the legislation streamlines the VA’s outdated appeals process, protects veterans’ due process rights, allows veterans to retain the original effective date of their claims throughout the appeals process and provides faster appeals decisions for veterans.

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U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is the elected Republican Conference Secretary. Dr. Foxx is the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and serves as Vice Chair of the House Rules Committee.